A dog and a memory

Twenty years ago, Paxton was in mourning. The town's popular police chief, 38-year-old Robert Mortell, had been gunned down by house burglars during a foot chase in Holden.

Chief Mortell was the only member of the department to have a police canine, Ginger. The beloved dog was in the cruiser and not at his side when he died. The Paxton Police Department has gone all this time without another K9-officer pair. But on Feb. 1, which happened to be the 20th anniversary of the chief's death, a German shepherd named Zita joined the force. Her handler is Officer Joseph F. Coggans III, whose father knew Chief Mortell well through his job with the county sheriff's office.

Zita is a tracker and patrol dog, and will soon be taught narcotics detection. She was purchased with a $25,000 grant from the Stanton Foundation in Cambridge.

Chief Mortell's senseless killing stopped Paxton in its tracks for a while. The shock subsided, and life went on for the small town and department, but things have never been the same.

There have been many changes over 20 years — a new public safety complex, computerization, improved police procedures, and better weapons. Now an attentive, friendly, highly trained canine named Zita is doing her part to guide the police department back to normal.